Red-hot Gators tie CWS mark with rout of Miami
Florida stuns ‘Canes with an 11-run 4th inning
The Florida Gators entered the 2015 College World Series on a roll.
The Miami Hurricanes were not going to slow them down, much less stop their rival.
Trailing Miami 2-1 to start the fourth inning of the opening game, the Gators shook off some early nerves and steamrolled the ‘Canes for 11 runs, tying an NCAA-tournament record.
Th 15-3 victory was the 10th consecutive postseason win for the Gators, who won the SEC Tournament and opened the NCAAs 6-0, outscoring opponents 68-15 along the way.
Even so, UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan was as surprised as anyone by his team’s fourth-inning onslaught.
“Certainly didn’t see an 11-run inning [coming],” he told the Orlando Sentinel in Omaha, Nebraska.
Neither did iconic Hurricanes coach Jim Morris.
“Fourth inning says everything about the game. Everything that could go wrong went wrong,” he said following the largest postseason defeat for Miami in 281 games.
A much-anticipated pitchers’ duel between UF’s Logan Shore and Miami’s Andrew Suarez — each entered the game with an earned-run average of less than 3.00 — was going according to script for the first few innings.
Miami took a 2-0 lead on a pair of sacrifice flies while UF got on the board during the third inning following a balk.
Then the Gators caught fire and the ‘Canes collapsed. UF scored 11 runs on nine hits and two Miami
errors. UF sent 16 batters to the plate.
A 2-1 game was suddenly 12-2 entering the fifth inning.
Peter Alonso, the 2019 NL Rookie of the Year and reigning home run leader for the New York Mets, drove in three runs against Miami, as did Josh Tobias. Eight Gators in all had at least an RBI.
UF’s bats went cold, though, during a 1-0 loss to Virginia in the next round. Another rout of Miami, this time 10-2, set up a rematch between the Gators and Cavaliers in the semifinals. Following a 10-5 win, the Gators lost 5-4 during the double-elimination tournament.